LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA-The Rider men placed third and the Rider women placed third of 10 teams at the 2012 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, held Friday morning at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.

"On the men's side we had a goal of finishing second but we missed by three points so it is a little disappointing," said Rider head coach Bob Hamer. "On the women's side we were happy we got third."

For the men sophomore Anthony Dentino (Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.) placed fifth overall, the only non-Iona runner in the top 10. "Obviously Anthony ran a tremendous race," Hamer said, "as he continues to do that. I was really impressed with him today."

Dentino covered the 8,000 meter course in 24:39.52. Dentino placed 13th last year as a rookie to earn All-MAAC honors.

Also for the Rider women, senior Paige McAtee (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) placed 15th overall (22:35.21) among the 116 runners to earn All-MAAC honors. "Paige came through and had a great race," Hamer said. "I was really pleased for her."

Also for the Rider men senior Sean Donohue (Cliffwood Beach, NJ/Matawan) placed 13th to earn All-MAAC honors. "Sean had one of the worst races of his career a few weeks ago but today he stood up when we needed him," Hamer said. "I was really pleased with the way he ran today."

Sophomore Nasser Zayer (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) placed 17th overall (25:38.67) and junior Corey O'Neill (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) was 18th (25:39.66). "Our first four men ran very well," Hamer said. "Nasser had a bad knee but he ran a gutsy race today. He's going to be a great one for us."

"Evan was injured early in the year but he's been coming along," Hamer said. "He's a kid who can make a big impact in our program down the road."

On the women's side senior Nicole Tassello (Suffern, NY/Suffern) placed 17th (22:44.52), just missing All-MAAC honors. "I was really disappointed for Nicole," Hamer said. "She works so hard, extremely committed, so it was heart-breaking for me as her coach to see her come so close. She's a great kid."